Dracul's Revenge 01: Dracul's Blood (22 page)

Nik’s breathing picked up as he struggled with what to do. He knew he should probably rush the commissioner. Maybe that would at least buy Bobby some time to overpower Lawler? Or maybe it would get his lover shot.

“Stay where you are. Don’t even think about it,” Jablonsky growled into the phone.

DRACUL’S BLOOD

Carol Lynne and T.A. Chase

144

“What? How’d you…”

“Because I’d be tempted to do the same thing, but you’re unarmed and untrained.”

“Well then what the hell am I supposed to do? I can’t hide here and let Lawler drive away with Bobby. We’ll never find them again.”

“You’ve got Bobby’s car, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Follow them.”

Nik swallowed around a large lump in his throat as the Jaguar pulled out of the driveway with Bobby at the wheel.

“I don’t drive,” he finally admitted. “And they’re getting away.”

“Dammit! I’m still too far out to catch up with them. You’ll have to do your best, Nik.”

Do my best. Right.
Nik jumped from out of the bushes and ran to the Camaro. He got behind the wheel and searched around for a way to pull the seat up. “I’m putting you on speaker. This is gonna take all the concentration I have.”

“Just remember to shout out streets and directions as you go.”

Nik started the powerful engine. As he put the car into drive, he tried to calm his breathing. He wouldn’t do Bobby any good if he freaked out before even catching up to him.

The car lurched out of its parking spot and Nik headed it towards the spec of blue in the distance.

Shit, shit, shit.
He almost panicked when he had to pass his first oncoming car.
Stay on
your own side of the street, Nik.

“Directions, Nik!”

“Uhh, east. Coming up on Fifth Avenue. Please don’t turn left.” The blue Jag turned left as feared. “Oh fuck, why does he have to go up Fifth Avenue?”

“You’re doing fine, Nik. Calm down.”

Nik shrieked as a cab nearly sideswiped Bobby’s car. “People are crazy!”

He did his best to keep the Jaguar in his sights. “I think Bobby knows I’m back here.

He’s not driving in his usual reckless manner.”

“Good.”

“He’s turning east again.” Nik gave Jablonsky the street. “Oh fuck, I almost hit someone.”

DRACUL’S BLOOD

Carol Lynne and T.A. Chase

145

Tears started to burn at Nik’s eyes as he realised how much damage he could do. The blurred vision didn’t help matters as he sideswiped a parked car, taking off the Camaro’s passenger-side mirror.

“What the hell was that?”

“Bobby’s gonna kill me.”

“Can you still drive?”

“Yeah.” He wanted to scream no. He wanted to beg Jablonsky to find him and take him to the man he loved. He wanted a hell of a lot. The reality was that he was the only person standing between Bobby and a killer.

“We’re crossing over to Queens.”

“I’m gaining ground, Nik. I’m about five minutes behind you.”

“Well, catch the fuck up and let me out of this car!”

He heard Jablonsky chuckle, which pissed Nik off further. He knew he sounded like a whiney candy-ass, but with every red light, every passing car, he knew he was riding the edge of killing himself or someone else.

A car came out of nowhere and clipped the front of the Camaro, sending the vehicle into a spin. Nik’s life flashed before his eyes before he could get the Camaro stopped.

The man in the other vehicle stopped and started to get out of his car. Nik held up a hand and turned the Camaro back in the direction the Jaguar was heading. He could hear something rubbing against the front tire. “And they say public transportation is dangerous.”

Nik doubted he’d ever get into another car as long as he lived. He shouted more directions to Jablonsky. “Wait a minute. He’s slowing down in front of a row of buildings.”

“Pull over. Now. You don’t want Lawler to spot you.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Nik pulled to the kerb and shut off the engine. “I’m about two blocks away. They’re getting out of the car. There’s an old, faded sign over the building that says Fontelli’s Fresh Fruit.”

“Got it. You stick tight, and I’ll be there in…crap! There’s some sort of traffic jam. I’ll try to go around.”

Nik watched as Lawler handed Bobby the keys to the building. Bobby glanced down the street in Nik’s direction and gave a slight shake of his head. Bobby unlocked the door, but instead of opening it, he swung around with the keys still in hand.

DRACUL’S BLOOD

Carol Lynne and T.A. Chase

146

Nik gasped as Lawler’s head flew to the side, bringing the gun up to slam against the side of Bobby’s head. Nik watched horrified as Bobby started to sag towards the pavement.

Lawler pushed Bobby inside the building as Nik sat stunned.

“I’ve got to help him.” As he jumped out of the car, he heard Jablonsky yelling at him, but he didn’t care.

DRACUL’S BLOOD

Carol Lynne and T.A. Chase

147

Bobby’s head rang, and his feet weren’t obeying his mind. God, who knew Lawler would slug him with his gun? Should have thought about that before he tried to make his move.

Nik.
The thought of his lover following him scared Bobby. It had nothing to do with the fact Nik couldn’t drive, and he’d have to take Bobby’s beloved car. What worried Bobby the most was simply that Nik would try to save him, and Lawler would shoot him.

“Let’s go. You brought this all on yourself, Marks. If you had just kept your nose out of it all, I wouldn’t have to do this.” Lawler shook his head.

“I’m a good detective. It’s my job to solve murders. Maybe you should have gotten rid of the bodies in a way that was different from your friend Thompson.”

“Show some respect when you talk to me.” Lawler slapped Bobby across the face.

Blinking away the stars, he shook his head. “Respect? You get your jollies playing with boys? That’s sick. Sorry, but perverts don’t garner much respect from me.”

“You don’t understand.”

Lawler pushed him down a corridor, keeping him moving with nudges in the middle of his back from his gun. He grimaced as Lawler managed to hit him hard in the kidneys.

“Bastard.”

He tripped into a room when Lawler jerked him to the right. Lights burned his eyes and he closed them, trying to adjust to the sudden brightness.

“Open your eyes.”

Another smack to his head had him swinging and a sick satisfaction burned through him when he heard the gasp and the thud of his fist hitting flesh.

“Don’t hit me again.”

A fist drove into his stomach, doubling him over. His face hit a knee and he went to the floor, catching himself at the last minute with his hands. Staring down, Bobby noticed the drops of blood that coloured the grey concrete dark red.
Fuck.
His damn nose was broken again and he’d have at least one, if not two, black eyes when this was all said and done.

DRACUL’S BLOOD

Carol Lynne and T.A. Chase

148

Unless Lawler shot him. Of course, he’d rather be shot than have his throat slashed and drained of blood.

Pain burned through him as Lawler grabbed his hair and jerked his head back. He stared up into the man’s feverish eyes.

“Get up.”

Bobby struggled to his feet—doing his best to push the pain away—and looked around. Shock hit him. It was the same kind of room that Thompson had in his house. A bed held the prominent position in the middle of the room like an altar. An armoire sat against one wall. Bobby didn’t want to think about what was in that cabinet.

Lawler shoved him towards a chair placed to the side of the bed. “Sit.”

“I’m not a dog.”

“You are whatever I say you are.” Pushing him into the chair, Lawler tossed him a pair of handcuffs. “Handcuff yourself to the chair.”

Snapping the cuffs around his wrist, Bobby got his right hand hooked to the arm of the chair. When that was done, Lawler came closer and captured Bobby’s left wrist. Bobby tugged, testing the cuffs and realised he wasn’t going anywhere at the moment. He hoped Nik had called Jablonsky, and his partner was already figuring out a way to get him out of there. Bobby really hoped Nik stayed outside and didn’t attempt to save him.

Nik didn’t have the training to keep from getting shot by Lawler. While Bobby didn’t think the commissioner was interested in drinking his blood, his gut told him things might change if Lawler caught a glimpse of Nik.

“Why did you kill them?”

“Who?” Lawler glanced around, searching for something.

“Mavis Vanderlist, Phillip Cochran, and those two other boys.” Anger surged in him as he came to the conclusion Lawler didn’t remember the names of his victims.

“I needed their blood. Mavis wasn’t my first choice, but I wasn’t able to find one of my regular whores. They were being used by the others.”

Bobby watched Lawler pull a flask out of his pocket and sip from it. “What’s that?”

Lawler glanced down at the object in his hand. “It’s a family heirloom.”

He held it up for Bobby to study. Bobby grimaced when he recognised the seal on the flask’s front.

DRACUL’S BLOOD

Carol Lynne and T.A. Chase

149

“So being a sick bastard runs in the family, huh? Did your father abuse you? Do you abuse your son?”

He didn’t flinch at the backhand slap Lawler levelled at him.

“I would never touch my own son and my father didn’t touch me that way. He did teach me the sublime and life-altering experiences one can achieve when loving a younger man. The Knights of Pederastia isn’t a group of perverted old men taking advantage of innocent children.”

Bobby couldn’t keep his snort of disbelief from breaking through.

“You’re a heathen. You wouldn’t understand how spiritual such a union can be. If it were up to me, everyone would know the love and true spirituality that comes from entering the innocent.” Lawler took another sip from the flask as he knelt in front of a chest at the foot of the bed and opened it.

“What are you drinking?”

“Thompson didn’t understand what he’d gotten when he bought that cask of wine. He just knew it was from Radu cel Frumos, the Ruler of our society. The fool never grasped what the wine could do to a man.”

Lawler pulled out a cask exactly like the one Bobby found at Thompson’s house. The way the commissioner handled it told Bobby, Lawler knew what he held in his hands. Not just the historical value of the actual object, but the importance of the liquid inside.

“Drinking it too fast caused it to go to his head. If he planned on using it, he should have sipped it. The only way to control the beast within is to keep him on a leash.”

“The beast?”

A faint noise caught Bobby’s ear and he gritted his teeth, hoping against hope that it was Jablonsky and SWAT, not Nik, coming to save him. Lawler didn’t react to the sound.

“Yes. I’m sure you’ve heard of Vlad Dracul.”

“Dracula? Sure, I’ve read the book and everything.”

Sarcasm seemed lost on Lawler.

“Bram Stoker’s book exaggerated the true nature of what Vlad was. He was a usurper and murderer, but the wine made him stronger. It made him more cunning. He was the true trainer of the beast.”

“What the fuck is this beast you keep talking about?”

DRACUL’S BLOOD

Carol Lynne and T.A. Chase

150

“The beast will give a man power and wealth beyond his wildest dreams as long as he continues to feed him.”

“Really? And how’d that work out for Vlad, because I’m pretty sure he’s nothing but ashes by now.”

The vague wave of Lawler’s hand told Bobby he discounted those issues.

“Vlad ran out of wine. I believe a servant stole the other bottles and deserted Vlad.

You don’t get it though. Radu made this wine. It’s his soul that touched it and imbued the drink with the power of the Knights.” Lawler stroked the cask lovingly.

“Radu used the blood and heart of his brother and father to create that wine. He used his own blood to call forth the demon to anoint the wine.”

Scrapes came from the corridor and Bobby braced his feet against the floor, pushing his chair across the concrete, trying to cover whoever was coming down the hall.

Lawler shot a frown over his shoulder at Bobby, but immediately went back to staring at the cask.

Bobby had to keep Lawler’s attention away from whoever was coming. He decided to use the time left to get a few more answers out of the madman. “What does Professor Lattimer have to do with this?”

“Lattimer?” Lawler snorted. “He fancies himself the archivist of The Knights of Paiderastia. Hack is what he is. Your little boyfriend found more of our artefacts than Lattimer did.”

“Why did you kill all those people? Was it just for their blood?”

“No. Mavis tried to blackmail me. She had figured out what ‘club’ her father and I belonged to. She was disgusted, but she wasn’t going to her father to get the money. She came to me and threatened to tell my wife if I didn’t give her hundreds of thousands of dollars.” He shook his head. “The beast needed to be fed anyway, so I figured why not let him have his way with her.”

“And you didn’t want your wife to know. Why didn’t you just pay her?”

“It’s my wife’s money. I married a woman whose family is worth millions. Either way, I would have had to tell her, and I won’t jeopardise my chances at governor by pissing off my wife or the men in the society with me.”

“I don’t think you need to worry about those men,” Bobby confessed.

DRACUL’S BLOOD

Carol Lynne and T.A. Chase

151

Lawler whirled towards him and he was glad that he faced the door, so whoever was coming up the corridor wouldn’t be seen by Lawler.

“What are you talking about?”

Bobby shrugged. “We got a list from the auctioneer of men who were invited to bid on the casks. We know all of those men are members of your pathetic little club. The police will be going after them, once we’ve taken care of you.”

“Taken care of me?” Lawler laughed. “How are you going to do that? No one knows where you are.”

“You never know about that. Why did you kill Phillip and the other kids?”